


Artifacting

by Atomograd



Series: De-Synced From Time [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Archie Sonic, Found Family, M/M, Multi, Onyx City, Portals, This is... Many different Sonic continuities blended. Don't worry about it, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:47:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22035061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atomograd/pseuds/Atomograd
Summary: Post Super Genesis Wave, Onyx City has a mounting portal problem.Silver intends to fix it, and find a way to un-retcon his boyfriend out of existence on the side.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Silver the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog/Shard the Metal Sonic
Series: De-Synced From Time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1586026
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

The portal swirled shut with a wail like thunder played in reverse. 

Pockets of blackdamp formed, air filling them with unsettling _whump_ s, and excess energy crackled, popped, fizzled out with angry hisses. Everything from newly blossomed buttercups to ancient trees were partially uprooted, if not dragged across the open field or shattered into debris - The only bystanders in the mid-dawn battle. 

He was fairly certain he helped plant one of the trees that remained standing, nearly two hundred years prior.

Glimmering cyan shattered and dissipated where the portal once gaped, psychokinesis losing its grip and nearly crushing Silver's rib cage without anywhere else to direct the force it had been exerting. He could hardly breathe already, what was the difference? The pressure kept building briefly, the last of the air forced from his lungs, entire frame shaking; psychokinesis was the only thing keeping him upright. The fronts of his boots were dug so deep into the dirt he was standing on tip-toes, knees bent awkwardly. It had been the only way to anchor himself against the vortex.

" _Silver_ -" His name came from so far away. His ears were ringing, his scars ached, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He _couldn't_ -

" _Stop_." Arms clasped around him in a hold and one of his boots dislodged from the ground, knees buckling at the snarled command. Head dropping against his mud-splattered mane, he caught a glimpse of Shadow's paw firmly wrapped around his wrist. His claws grazed his palm, arm across Silver's chest, nose against his shoulder, chest heaving at Silver's back, and Shadow was trying to pull him down, wasn't he? 

He felt like he was burning, but this portal had opened to land of otherworldy gaseous ice and creatures with freezing tendrils and-

Shadow's opposite paw was holding Silver's other arm more tenderly, the time traveler's fur singing. He hadn't even finished snapping his inhibitor rings shut. The psychokinesis broke apart like a water balloon, Silver all but collapsing back against Shadow, trembling paw tracing Shadow's arm. As Shadow slowly lowered them to the long grass, Silver slid his fingers over the ring clumsily, numb to the Chaos energy siphoning out and all its threats to tear him apart, gloves thinned to his pads before he could successfully secure it shut. He didn't even hear the mechanism lock, the ringing in his ears was so loud.

"You're fine, it's gone, you did it," Shadow was mumbling, most of the growl crumbling out of his voice once the Chaos energy fell slack. Silver barely registered most of what he was saying, ability to breathe slowly returning to him. He didn't hyperventilate, but his vision swam and he was trying to feel Shadow's harsh breaths against his shoulder, his heavy-handed hold on him, the fracture in his limp ankle folded uncomfortably under him, every scrape and bruise. One of the first sensations that returned was the texture of Shadow's gloves and he held onto his arms with both paws, running trembling fingers over his forearm and bicep almost desperately, relieved when he finally started to feel the sleek fur. Shadow never stopped murmuring, hackles still raised from adrenaline. "You did fine. You're here. You're here."

Dizzy, Silver wiggled, wincing when sharp pain shot up his leg. Psychokinesis a far cry from what it had been only minutes ago, he tried using it to move his leg as he turned in Shadow's arms. He was immediately pulled in, the other hedgehog's face in his quills, his own smushed against Shadow's chest, arms back around him, legs less painfully arranged. A pathetic attempt at a comforting purr tore from his throat and died quicker than he expected.

"-ought I lost you, don't _ever_ -" Silver's breath hitched and he coughed violently, curling in on himself. He pressed his nose more firmly into Shadow's chest fur, ears pinned back. "-an you- hea- me? Si-"

"Can't-" It sounded like he was underwater, and his hearing faded completely momentarily. Panicking, he shoved Shadow back, making haphazard grabs for his arms and paws until he found steady purchase, eyes wide as they locked with Shadow's. Everything _looked_ like it had a waved filter, light refractions dancing across his vision, obscuring the thin red slits of Shadow's pupils. The last time this happened he'd been directly under Shard, his teammate's cannon diverting the unexpected explosion of a Badnik. If it hadn't been for Shard's speed, Silver would have been blown to pieces. 

The ringing faded, but his vision didn't clear, and he laid against Shadow again, whining. "Hard to hear. What...?"

"It had you." The words were rasped in a whisper against his ear. Flinching at the sudden clarity, he tried to swivel his ears to accommodate, but after clearing his throat, Shadow's voice was stronger. "You were _gone_. I thought you- It looked like you closed the portal from the inside."

"Oh," he murmured. "Huh."

Before Silver could say anything else, Shadow was on alert and clutching him more tightly, jostling his leg and making him whimper. He was so tired, please, _please_ don't let it be anything else-

Something rammed into them. Crumpling on impact, Silver whined even louder, psychokinesis trying to engulf him protectively before blinking out and fading uselessly. Head spinning, he didn't realise someone was talking to him at first. Their paws were all over him, batting Shadow's arm away until they could throw themself against him. It knocked the breath away and it took all he had to open his eyes, but the sight of Gold sapped all his remaining strength. She was safe. She was safe. She was-

"-safe! You are _so stupid_! I could have helped with this one, look at you!" Gold kept going off, paws patting him down. Tentatively, Shadow draped his arm over her back and nudged her in, shakily exhaling into Silver's quills. "Seriously, I can't leave you two alone for _ten minutes _."__

__Blacking out, Silver wondered how it'd only been ten minutes._ _


	2. Chapter 2

Stumbling, he managed two clumsy steps before he fell to his knees. One paw pressed, trembling, against the left side of his rib cage, his breath coming in short wheezes. Even through the fabric of his uniform, he could feel his skin burn beneath his fur, smell the singe - The ash, the smoke, the _fire._ And that's what it was, wasn't it? He was in the burnt-out husk of a twenty-something-story building, threatening to collapse all around him at any moment, the shrill cry of an Iblis Taker echoing off the soot stained walls, all he had to do was lift his head and look through the glass-less windows and he'd see Iblis' flames. All he had to do was lift his head. Simple. He'd done harder, he was doing harder; it was hard to be a spy. 

Silver frowned. No, that wasn't right. He couldn't be in Crisis City, not in his black uniform with it's silver trim, it's light blue panels. He loved being a Secret Freedom Fighter, and his blunt claws were digging so deep into his ribs he could feel the fabric over them straining, and he loved being with Shard, and he missed Blaze, and he was on fire, he was burning, his vision swam as he stared at the industrial flooring beneath him, and all he had to do was lift his head. All he had to do was look up. All he had to do was-

"Look at me." 

As if ice water had been poured over him, Silver blinked, clarity flooding him as his head snapped up so quickly he found himself swaying where he kneel, dizzy. Shard was crouched in front of him - Sometimes. There were split seconds Silver could hardly detect where Shard shimmered, afterimages trailing him from more directions than Silver could count. His teammate was alternating between crouching in the exact same spot before him and engaging in the battle around them, creating and maintaining a perimeter around Silver and Larry. He inhaled through his mouth with a wheeze closer to a whistle, fractured rib clawing at him from the inside, ears angling forward towards Shard with enough determination to make Silver's head hurt. And oh, how his head hurt.

"Ace! _Look_ at me. We can't hold position. We need to make a move," Shard made an approximation of a grunt, the sound punctuated by what Silver considered the vocal equivalent of watching an image pixelate. He, suddenly, had a diagonal scruff across his left greave, poleyn dented. That was a bad sign, Silver acknowledged to himself, hearing Larry whimper from somewhere behind him. Instinctively, the time traveler's free arm darted out behind him and, ignoring the familiar strain in his chest and his other teammate's yelp, he grabbed Larry by the arm and hauled him beside himself and Shard. Silver didn't release him, even as his hearing started to alternate between high pitched whines and baritone hums. It was starting to sound like water was rushing into his ears. "Before this junkyard scraps _us."_

"Huh?" His voice sounded so far away. He couldn't remember the beginning of Shard's sentence, but he tried to make his lazy neck work, to turn his head and survey their surroundings. Light played across every surface left of the shell of a factory still standing around them. Silver watched the refractions, mesmerized, his paw slowly losing it's grip on Larry and the humming whine overtaking his hearing entirely. His head hurt. Did he hit his head? He could have sworn that Badnik had rammed into his ribs, that it had impacted with his psychokinetic field and short circuited in just the right way and exploded. Did he drop? Did he go flying through the air, skidding, slamming into walls, nearly sliding into a lava pit? Were there giant worms of fire and flame and broken concrete thrashing, whipping him right out of the sky, setting him alight-

The world spun. Silver's vision went black, then white, then it was all black and gold and bright, brilliant green, glowing in the darkness crawling over the factory ruins. 

Shard was suddenly on his feet, which were planted on either side of Silver's legs, his one hand holding the opposite arm steady as he fired his cannon directly above Silver's head. They hadn't seen the Flasher coming, circuitry dripping out of it in a way that would have made Silver ill had he noticed it. The robot exploded and, diverting the blast, the cannon's strike blew everything away and oh, now Silver was _definitely_ underwater, there was no other way to explain the pressure in his ears, his lungs, that he was shivering from cold despite burning up from the inside. The light danced over Shard's face like he was standing on the ocean floor and Silver hated the idea, fingers shakily skimming the tip of Shard's right sabaton. Shard didn't like being underwater. 

"-ilver Sonic's c-closing in, we need t-" Larry's voice floated to him, floated away. Something else exploded. Shard looked beautiful, standing over him like that, weaving between protecting his team and keeping the horde away.

The horde- Right. Right. The horde. Newly appointed Horde Commander Silver Sonic, taller than two Overlanders standing on each other's shoulders and armed to the metaphorical teeth, was coming. This was supposed to be a recon mission. What went wrong?

"Wha' happened?" Silver's mouth was full of sand and seashells and super heated glass. He wheezed, head hitting the floor beneath it with a thud that reverberated. Dawn was approaching, but the light was going out. "Jack...?"

The world fell away and he floated off in the current.

* * *

"-ave been killed, you know that, right? You know this is your faul-"

"-ouldn't have predic-"

"Didn't even see it com-"

"-tell us! We need to-"

"-eed you to wake up, Silv."

Jolting upright in his uncomfortable cot, Silver's chest heaved, paws fisted in the thin sheet lain over him and everything _aching._

"What happened? Where are we? What-" He coughed, curling forward, Shard's cool hand patting his back. "Are you? Okay? A-are you-"

"I'm _fine,_ Ace," Shard almost sighed. That was good. He sounded good. Silver peeked up at him without uncurling himself from where he hunched over his knees, unruly quills almost blocking the view. Shard's paintjob was immaculate, his eyes glowing soft, auxiliary red. _Safety_ red. "Everyone's fine, except for you. You slept for three hours and _I_ had to do all the arguing and finger pointing. How do you even put up with Harvey long enough to fight with him all the time? He's so annoying. Watching you sleep gets so _boring,_ you just laid there-"

He couldn't help it. A laugh bubbled up inside him and tore out of Silver's throat with so much force, it almost sounded like a bark. He slapped a paw over his mouth to stifle the giggles. They only got worse when Shard pouted, then scowled, then crossed his arms over his chest and tried to do both at once. 

"I _mean_ it, Silver-"

"I-" Another laugh. "I'm _so_ sorry, oh, gosh, I'm so-" He couldn't even finish apologising; Silver's eyes were starting to tear up. Shard's cannon bumped him on the back of the head and he whined, giggled, wheezed, whined, repeat. "You're just so _cute-_ "

* * *

Jolting upright in his comfortable bed, Silver's chest heaved, paws fisted in the thick comforter lain over him and his heart _aching._

"No," he whispered, voice hoarse. The tears on his face went from freezing cold to searingly hot. Everything still hurt from closing the portal yesterday, but it was nothing compared to the heartbreak. "No, no, no, no-"  
A dream, from a time and place that didn't exist anymore. A memory of a world that had been taken from him, of a life stolen in a Wave that bent the universe out of shape and forged it into something nearly unrecognisable. Things no one synced with time could, or would, ever remember. 

Silver remembered what he lost and fell apart. Didn't bother trying to hide it even as he heard Gold's feet padding down the hall, her paws scrambling over the door and searching for the knob in the pre-dawn darkness as she called his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Wakes up at eight in the morning in a blind panic to write Sonic fanfiction.]  
> Anyway I love the Secret Freedom Fighters. Thanks for reading as always!


	3. Chapter 3

One tenrec down, three Bits to go. 

Readjusting his fingers on the grip of his hardlight laser blaster, creatively dubbed the HLX Lazer Blaster by the Professor himself, Silver swept his free paw through his quills, pinning them back as he peeked around the corner. He wasn't even sure what the "X" was for. Hard Light Extreme? He blinked in the low light as his vision swept over the living room, watergun-cast blaster held at his shoulder, aimed towards the ceiling. What words even started with "x," anyway? Xenon? Xylan, xeric, xenocryst. Or was it phenocryst? No, a phenochryst was found in porphyritic rock, a xenocryst was found in igneous rock. Or was that a xenolist-

Gold's thoughts interrupted his, her telepathic pouting pounding behind his temple. As Red Bit slid across the rug behind the couch, both little hands on the blaster and aiming right for Silver's chest, Silver mentally thanked Gold for making him _pay attention._ He drew behind the wall with a stuttering lurch, wincing as his quills dug into his back, trapped between him and the wall. He was still sore. He was _always_ sore. One deep, shuddering breath, and he ducked, lunged around the corner, and kicked up with a burst of psychokinesis just in time to miss Red's shot. The tiny robot shouted a string of binary Silver didn't have the time to translate, headache mounting under the strain of Gold's one-sided telepathy and his quills nearly brushing the vaulted ceiling above them. 

Yellow Bit's aim was bad enough they missed by a mile, having fired hanging upside down beneath a lampshade. Silver laughed, one eye shutting as his head throbbed, punctuated by a piercing pain shooting through his sternum. Psychokinesis flickering, he dropped half a foot before he jolted to a stop, the inertia wrenching all the breath left in him away.

Blue Bit blasted him six times in quick succession: His limbs, the less bruised half of his abdomen, and his nose. Yellow and Red cheered for their sibling, rushing over to their perch on the coffee table, babbling in triumphant binary. Silver rubbed his nose as he slowly descended, dropping himself onto the couch and fighting the grin spreading across his face. "It's a _little_ unfair to go up against a hivemind, sure, but I didn't even see you, Blue! I can't believe you blended in with the _tissue box._ "

Bashful under all the attention and fidgeting with their blaster, shyly looking everywhere but the other hedgehogs, the bauble on their head bobbing as they shifted on their feet. Blaster set aside, Silver held out his open palm and, with a little nudge from Yellow bit, they highfived him before tumbling into a little ball. Gold rushed in from where she'd been observing the cameras with the Professor, Von Schlemmer not far behind, and bundled all three Bits into her arms before any of them could escape.

"You avenged me!" Her thoughts went from buzzing to singing, tension draining out of Silver as the bursts of colour and snippets of music flashed in his own mind. She was getting better at quieting it down, at least, and he curled in on himself where he sat, watching his siblings over the tops of his knees as they talked to each other too fast for him to follow. Von Schlemmer was beside him, suddenly, a hand on his back and his blaster in his hand, but Silver couldn't hear a word he said. If the Professor noticed, he didn't show it, moving away from Silver with another pat to begin the long process of wrestling new toys away from his charges.

It all reminded him of the underground base - Of the twins and their pranks, bantering with Elias, Larry attempting to diffuse the situation and everyone bickering over who had been rude to their favourite lynx. A cold hand brushing his arm, a smug expression beckoning him to follow, spending hours that felt like years in the library. Shard would have liked the Bits. They would have liked him. 

Nose nuzzled into the fur peaking out beneath his shorts, arms wrapped around his legs, Silver drifted off.

* * *

"GetupgetupgetupgetupgetupgetupSILVER-" Falling off the couch and rocketing to his feet with so much force he tripped over the coffee table, rolled, and had to levitate just to get anywhere, Silver clutched his head and started flying. Gold's thoughts pierced his own with so much force he hardly had to think on his own as she guided him, corners turned clumsily and his shoulders aching from bumping everything on the way out of the apartment and onto the streets of Onyx City. Buildings, floating freeways, gardens, shops - Everything whipped by him too fast to process and, within seconds, he was on the other side of the district, staring a portal down and wrist bracers already sparking with the psychokinesis pooling in his paws. 

He didn't have to think too hard for this one. The portal was massive, at least six times his height, but the world beyond it was a swirling mass of pink and purple. It was unlikely anything would come through if it hadn't already. Gold's telepathy gnawed at him even as she retracted it, reminding him she loved him, be safe, he could do this-

Memories of an incomplete transmission blocked everything else out. His body worked on instinct as he began encasing the portal in psychokinesis, laying on the pressure, arms outstretched and paws painstakingly slowly closing the distance between each other. Shard's final words. Nicole's stunned silence. The Wave. Ace and Jack, facing down threats smaller than Naugus but twice as terrifying. Teammates. Together. _I love you. You'll be safe with me, we can do th-_

Silver dart forward at the last second, passing through the portal as it closed behind him, the memory of Shard's snickering laugh clearer in his mind than Gold's shouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no haha I didn't forget how to write fanfics, don't be silly, I'm just, uh, warming up,  
> [Feel free to leave me a tip if you appreciate my work as I have no income! https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/1945 ]

**Author's Note:**

> Finally sitting down and attempting to write out some of my Silver muse's universe. Entering this into the canon of PSGW Silver living part time in Onyx City, teaming up with his new sister, kooky uncle, and tiny, devious robot friends. Mister Shadow t. Hedgehog's functionally immortal and around.  
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
